Retrospelsfestivalen pickups!

October 29, 2014 by stopXwhispering

So here’s the games I picked up at Retrospelsfestivalen, due to the proposal the day ended quite quickly so I didn’t have time to buy much more, but I did find a few interesting things ^_^

First off I found a guy selling off some of his japanese games. I picked up Chitei Tairiku Orudora & Super Boy Allan for Famicom Disk System. Both complete in their big boxes :) I already had Chitei Tairiku Orudora, but not in it’s big box, so I couldn’t stay away from getting it ^_^

I also found a Jajamaru game I didn’t previously have :D They’re usually quite cute platforming games so I picked this one up as well. It’s called Jajamaru Gekimaden Maboroshi no Kinmajou.

He also had a bunch of PC Engine games, most of them I already had, and some were just a bit too expensive. But these two I got at a reasonable price :) Avenger and Prince of Persia.

Another seller had a Power Pad for the NES! I’ve always wanted one but never found one at a good price. It’s bigger than I expected! :D

I’m really excited to finally try these two games out for the Power Pad! :D Athletic World I’ve had for about a decade (!) and Dance Aerobics I got the weekend before at Retrogathering. Look at those hilarious 80’s kids posing in aerobics positions! hahaha ^_^

And here’s a closeup of the Dance Aerobics label!

I also got an NES game called M.U.L.E. It’s a US release only I think, never heard of it before but I’m excited to try it out! The box art is amazing! :D It’s a freaking Space Cowboy!!! :D

The final game I bought was from a friend of mine that was selling off parts of his collection. I finally got around to getting Sonic 3! (Yes, I did not previously have all the Sonic games… shame on me…) I’m glad to have it now though ^_^

This weekend I’m heading to Gamex/Comic Con in Stockholm, so the update on this previous weekend’s visit to a Sci-Fi convention in Helsingborg will have to wait until after this weekend (and yes, I found games there too!!) ;D

Retrogathering pickups!

October 15, 2014 by stopXwhispering

I bought so many games at Retrogahtering 2014 that it has taken some time to organize it all. It was a great place to shop for games though, they had a lot of great sellers, like Spel & Sånt whom I bought loads of stuff from ;D

The most expensive game I bought was Separation Anxiety (PAL) for the SNES. It’s the sequel to Maximum Carnage. The day after my friends over at Gaminggrannar showed me a cool little shop called Ploppsi in Örebro, here I also found this action figure of Venom which I basically got for free after buying some games there as well ;D It made for a great photo opportunity ^__^

Here are some other SNES games I picked up. The Lost Vikings, Robocop 3, Lost Dimension, Judge Dredd, Push-Over, Rival Turf! and Space MegaForce. When I tried Space Megaforce out I realised I already had it for the Super Famicom, it’s Super Aleste…

I also got some really nice Sega Mega Drive games, like Ristar and Contra Hard corps for the Japanese Mega Drive, and also Captain America and the Avengers, Galaxy Force II, Robocop vs Terminator, California Games, Sword of Vermillion, Alien 3 and a bunch of NHL and sports games that I didn’t previously own.

I found a weird game that Borka at Spel&Sånt persuaded me to get. It’s called Caution Seaman and it’s for the Sega Dreamcast. Apparently you have some sort of seaman in an aquarium which you speak to through a microphone that comes with the game. It just sounded so weird that I had to get it! :D

The Swedish GAME store was also represented at Retrogathering and I got some complete Sega Game Gear games from there :) Halley Wars, Aerial Assault and Super Space Invaders!

I also got a bunch of Sega Master System from Super Motaro at Retrogathering. These included Kung Fu Kid, Rambo III, Great Golf, Fantazy Zone II, Rocky, Crash Dummies, California Games, Basketball Nightmare, The Lucky Dime Caper, Wimbledon and Wimbledon II. I also found Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker the day after at Ploppsi ^_^

I found something that I wasn’t expecting as well! When I started collecting a bit over 10 years ago I fell in love with the Nintendo Virtual Boy and bought every game I came across for it. After a while I had most of them, I was only lacking Water World out of the US releases, and I found it this weekend! :D I also got Warioland and Mario Clash for the Japanese Virtual Boy, I only had these in US releases previously, and I found a complete copy of Nester’s Funky Bowling (I previously only had the loose cartridge). This got me so excited that I went on eBay when I got home and found something else ;D I’ll let you know what once it arrives in the mail! :D After that I am only lacking two of the Japanese releases to have a complete Virtual Boy Collection! :D

I also got about 20 Atari 2600 games, a multi-game tap for the Atari 2600, 12 games for the Commodore 64 some pirate NES and Famicom carts, 3 complete N64 games and a bunch of other stuff ^_^ Now I’m gonna prepare my next entry about Retrospelsfestivalen which was this last weekend!

Super trading with the SegaDude! :D

August 1, 2014 by stopXwhispering

Once again I’ve made a trade with Eric The SegaDude and this time we shipped A LOT of games across the atlantic ^___^

I found some games here in Sweden that Eric had laid eyes on, so I grabbed them for him to trade with some doubles he had that I didn’t have in my collection :) This is what I got:

Rampage is a classic game, I had it for a few other systems, but not for Sega Master System ^_^ The cover artwork is really cool and the box was in great condition, unfortunately lacking a manual, but I don’t really care about that :) This game is fun and you can play two players just wrecking buildings together :D

Dead Angle was complete and in great condition ^_^ This game makes use of the Sega Master System’s lightphaser. I have a lot of games for the Master System now that requires the lightphaser, I get the feeling that Sega was better at making use of their accessory than Nintendo, however Duck Hunt was a total hit ;D

I already had The Ninja, but mine was in really awful condition, the box was basically falling apart :/ So this was a nice upgrade :D The Ninja is just that, you play as a Ninja throwing ninja stars at enemies trying not to get killed by other ninjas ;D

Speedball is a kind of sports game, much like soccer, but futuristic. It kind of sucks ;D haha! The controls are unresponsive and I couldn’t quite figure out how to pass or how to shoot or tackle.. >-< I don’t like sports in general though, but still it’s complete and in great condition so a nice addition to the collection ^__^

I enjoy Space Harrier, and I have it for several different systems. I didn’t have it for the Sega Master System though so I couldn’t pass this one up ^_^ Even though it’s lacking the manual, it’s in excellent condition :)

I’m not really into RPG’s, but since I didn’t have it it can still join my collection, I bet I have a friend or two who would enjoy it ;D Noticeable is that the music is not nearly as good as it is on the japanese version that I recently got for Eric :) And it’s still completely different than the Famicom version :) It was also complete and even had a huge map! (not pictured..) ^__^

I had Dynamite Dux before, but that one was completely littered with a German child’s drawings and stickers.. >_< so I’m happy to have a clean version of the cover ;D Unfortunately it was without manual so I had to complete it with the other manual filled with doodles ;D lol

This is also not really my type of game, not enough action and too much reading ;D But I’m happy to have it in my collection ^^

Cloud Master was a bunch of fun! ^_^ It was also complete and in great condition :D It’s a cute shooter with a boy on a cloud :D I have the Famicom version as well, it’s called Chuuka taisen :)

Apart from all these Sega Master System games I also got a few japanese Sega Mega Drive games :D

Maou Renjishi (or Mystical Ninja) is a really cool beat ’em up in japanese style! I hadn’t tried it before and I was stuck playing through the first 4 bosses until I died ^_^ I enjoyed it a lot :D

I also didn’t have Ghostbusters for the Mega Drive before, this is a really cute platformer, but i got stuck on the first stage. I couldn’t get past a room with a ghost head that shot fireballs at me >_<

I also got this one :D Garou Densetsu is a fighting game, I don’t know much about fighting games since I don’t play them that often, but it looks decent ^_^

Eric also threw in a loose NTSC Sega Genesis cart of Sonic Spinball so that I could try whether I would be able to play NTSC games on any of my systems!

Unfortunately…. This is what it said when I started it up on my PAL Sega Mega Drive.. and when I started it in my japanese Sega Mega Drive the system just wouldn’t power on :( But at least we know for sure now!

A pleasure as always doing trades with The SegaDude! :D Thank you Eric! ^_^ And let me know if you want the Sonic Spinball cartridge back ^^

(make sure to check out his awesome Sega Collection!!)

Retro game pickups in Tokyo

June 9, 2014 by stopXwhispering

Finally I’ve had some time to go through all the games that were already on my desk before leaving for Japan, and also the 117 games I bought while in Tokyo!! :D

On this trip to Tokyo I mainly focused on Famicom, I just went through every shelf of every retro gaming store and picked up anything I found that I didn’t already have! This concluded in a few really rare and expensive titles, but also a lot of junk like baseball games and unplayable mystery solving games and RPGs, but I’m really happy to finally have Gimmick!, Over Horizon and Snow Bros in my collection :D

Snow Bros wasn’t as fun as I had hoped. Kind of like Bubble Bobble, but not as cute :/

Over Horizon is a great shooter! The visuals are so pretty ^_^

And Gimmick! was also a lot of fun! So adorable, but yet difficult! ^_^

I also found Chip n’ Dale Rescue Rangers in pretty condition and Gebara (or Guevara) which I’ve only ever encountered once before and it was too expensive that time. Below is also a game called Jigoku Gokuraku Maru. I had never seen it before but the cover art reminded me of Genpei Toumaden so I assumed it was good ;D and it was! But it’s just a sidescrolling action platform where you play as a red-headed girl :)

Guevara is a fun Commando-style shooter where you can team up with a friend (who then plays as Fidel Castro) ;D

I found a Famicom cartridge copy of After Burner, I’ve never seen that before either.. I have it for Sega Master System and Mega Drive though.. Also got Cross Fire and Guardic Gaiden (Guardian Legend).

Cross Fire was kind of fun, very much like Dead Fox (Code Name Viper) but not quite as good.

I’ve been looking for Wanpaku Kokkun no Gourmet World but it’s been awfully pricey on eBay, in Tokyo however it was much more affordable ^_^ The middle game is called Pyokotan no Dai Meiro and it’s kind of like a maze game but with various mini-games whenever you open chests and stuff. It was interesting :) I also found Moero Twin Bee on a cart! I’ve only ever seen it for the Disk System, I didn’t think it existed on a cartridge, but I was pleased to find it ^_^

Wanpaku Kokkun no Gourmet World was OK, kind of easy and childish though.

In Moero Twinbee you can play three players simultaneously! This blew my mind ^___^

These were just a few of all the Famicom cartridges I got (103 in total!), but I also scored a few Super Famicom Games:

And some PC Engine and Sega Mega Drive games:

Now this was a few of the pickups, I will make another post soon with all the rest of the Famicom carts when I’ve uploaded them to the Famicom Collection Library :)

Retrospelsmässan 2014 (Sweden’s retro gaming exhibition)

May 4, 2014 by stopXwhispering

So I just got back from Tokyo 3 days ago and I’m still a bit jet lagged, and also very sick >.< But I refused to miss out on 2014’s RSM (Retrospelsmässan), Sweden’s yearly retro gaming exhibition in Gothenburg. So I drove there yesterday to see what they had to offer.

The setup was similar to last year, the biggest improvement though was that they had more registers at the entrance (6 instead of 1 or 2 last year) so the massive queues went a lot faster (but they were still there). Last year I waited almost 4 hours before I could get in, this year it took a little more than one hour.

The last 1/5 part of the queuing

There were as usual loads of cosplayers running around. It’s always nice to see ^_^ Here’s a few of the characters I managed to capture on camera:

It’s a me! Mario!

Street Fighter and Kingdom Hearts cosplay

My personal favorite: Wheatley from Portal ^_^ Brilliant!

Zelda & Link cosplay

At the fair there were loads of things to do. They had competitions, hundreds of systems, arcades and pinball machines setup to be played, artwork being made and sold, speedruns, street fighter tournaments, traders selling retro games and stuff and lots more.

And Charles Martinet was there (the voice of Mario & friends) and you could get his signature…

…which I did ^_^ He was very friendly and funny :)

I came in quite late since I had to drive for 2 hours to get there, so I didn’t have time to browse around a lot through the games. I also think that most of the good stuff had already been picked out, but I did manage to find a few things :) I found Sunset Riders for Sega Mega Drive, Wolfchild and Prince of Persia for Sega Mega CD. I’ve been curious about the Mega CD version of Wolfchild ever since I made the review for Wolfchild on Master System. I found it disturbing that the game lacked music, then someone told me that the Mega CD version had music, so I had to hear it ^_^ Sunset Riders has also been on my radar for some time but it has always been so pricey on eBay. I got it for approximately 40 GBP (or 69 USD).

I also found a mysterious Famicom pirate game which had no name, just an image of Tetris and airplanes?! So I had to buy it to see what it would be like ^_^

It turned out to be just Tetris, but I haven’t seen a Tetris that looks exactly like this one before. It had loads of gameplay options like 1 player, 2 player, cooperative, versus etc.

It also had loads of russian songs to choose from ^_^ Troika is my favorite :D

That’s it for now, soon i’ll make a big post about all my pickups in Japan, and also a small guide of Akihabara’s great assortment of retro game shops ^_^ But first I will have to sort out this mess on my desk of over 100 games that I bought during my 2 weeks there… o_O

If you wanna know more about Retrospelsmässan check out their webpage, you can also read about my visit to last year’s RSM here >>

Sega Mega Jet!

October 29, 2013 by stopXwhispering

Since it’s the 25th anniversary for the release of Sega Mega Drive in Japan today (29th of October 1988) I thought I would make a post about one of the variations of the Sega Mega Drive that’s a little bit less known, namely the Sega Mega Jet! Which I have just recently acquired ^_^

The Sega Mega Jet was only released in Japan and it’s basically a semi-portable Mega Drive. It’s small enough to bring along and works as a controller, but it also requires an AC adaptor and an external screen to work, so it’s not really that portable like the pictures on the back suggest:

He forgot to put the big fat AC adaptor and the other cords in
his purple man-purse!

Oh yeah, and if you’re friend is gonna play with you don’t forget to bring an extra controller with your portable console!

Later you can just store it with your diary in the drawer, unless you can’t fit your diary there because of the fat AC adaptor!!

Yeah.. well looking at the back of the box explains it all:

But I’m still happy to have one ^___^

The Sega Mega Jet was originally used for in-flight entertainment on Japanese Airlines. Later a consumer version was released in Japan as well, in 1994. The Mega Jet began the technology behind the Sega Nomad, which was only released in North America.

I found a fun fact on the Sega Wiki: The July 2006 issue (issue 27) of the British publication Retro Gamer stated that the majority of Mega Jets that are owned by private collectors come from an initial shipment hijacked by Indonesian sea-pirates. However, as no supporting information is available, this statement could potentially be an urban myth.

How cool wouldn’t it be if the one I have in my possession was stolen by sea-pirates?! :D I wish to believe it was so ^___^